Online reviews matter: How to improve your practice’s online ratings
The internet has unquestionably changed the way people find legal representation. When a simple Google search is capable of providing dozens of local options (if not hundreds for those in larger metro areas), prospective clients rely more and more on ratings and reviews to guide their decision making.
Consider these statistics from a recent survey:
- 95% of consumers read online reviews
- 40% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- 88% of consumers who read online reviews say it influences their decisions
With online reviews, word-of-mouth can now reach hundreds of potential clients. So, how can attorneys reduce the chances of negative client interactions, which can lead to poor online reviews?
First, it’s important to understand the most common points of friction between an attorney and their client. The top two complaints to the American Bar Association are “neglect” and “lack of communication.”
This isn’t surprising – attorneys are overwhelmed with heavy caseloads, and it can be easy for communications to slip through the cracks or for an attorney to lack the time to communicate more with their clients. The key to improvement lies in reducing the amount of time spent on repetitive administrative tasks so that attorneys can focus more on other concerns, resolve cases faster and communicate more effectively with their clients.
For example, records retrieval can be outsourced to eliminate the burden of contacting record locations and following up on the status of the request as needed. Record organization, such as indexing, chronology, and summarization of large and cumbersome records, can also be outsourced to save time and ensure that the most pertinent information for the case is found.
Cases in need of a medical expert witness can also present many time-consuming tasks such as procuring the correct witness, negotiating their contract, or managing their schedule and billing. This type of work can be outsourced to companies such as American Medical Forensic Specalists (AMFS), a medicalexpert witness network that capable of handling the extra work required for procuring expert witnesses.
Outsourcing this many tasks may sound counterintuitive at first but the help of a trusted partner to complete administrative tasks gives attorneys more time to focus on and complete their cases in addition to providing them with more time to communicate effectively with clients.
When it comes to increasing the number of positive online reviews for your practice online, don’t be afraid to ask satisfied clients to leave a review! According to one report, 68% of people say they have left a Google review for a local business when asked. Even if you already have plenty of positive reviews, it’s important to ensure your practice has many recent reviews available as 73% of consumers only trust reviews written in the past month and ignore any reviews older than that.
In this digital age, businesses can live or die by what is written in their online reviews. By outsourcing the tasks mentioned above, you can get more time back in your day that can be used to communicate more with clients and reduce negative reviews for potential customers to see. Stay tuned to our blog as we continue to share case management tips and tools to improve your caseloads.
Topics: Ontellus Insight
